Briefing Requested by the INGE committee Disinformation campaigns about LGBTI+ people in the EU and foreign influence Authors: Cecilia STRAND, Jakob SVENSSON European Parliament coordinator: Policy Department for External Relations Directorate General for External Policies of the Union EN PE 653.644 - July 2021 DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR EXTERNAL POLICIES POLICY DEPARTMENT BRIEFING Disinformation campaigns about LGBTI+ people in the EU and foreign influence ABSTRACT The purpose of this briefing is to give a concise overview of disinformation, misinformation and propaganda campaigns about LGBTI+ persons and rights, originating from or being supported and/or multiplied by actors outside the EU. Based on a review of existing literature, the briefing examines the main narratives used, supported and circulated, as well as which actors or group of actors are involved. Where available, information on methods, funding and impacts on European values is provided. The main narratives identified include negative othering, opposing a ‘gender ideology’, ‘heteroactivism’, restoring a ‘natural’ order, ‘colonialism’ and child safety. The briefing concludes that there is a need for more research, further harmonisation of legal frameworks, the scrutiny of financial flows and strengthened capacity to detect disinformation, misinformation, propaganda and hate speech. EP/EXPO/INGE/FWC/2019-01/Lot6/2/C/07 EN July 2021 - PE 653.644 © European Union, 2021 Policy Department, Directorate-General for External Policies AUTHORS • Cecilia STRAND, Uppsala University, Sweden • Jakob SVENSSON, Malmö University, Sweden • Roland BLOMEYER, Blomeyer & Sanz, Spain • Margarita SANZ, Blomeyer & Sanz, Spain PROJECT COORDINATOR (CONTRACTOR) • Blomeyer & Sanz, Spain This study was originally requested by the European Parliament's Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the European Union, including Disinformation (INGE) The content of this document is the sole responsibility of the authors, and any opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament. CONTACTS IN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Coordination: Marika LERCH, Policy Department for External Policies with support of Ottavio MARZOCCHI, Policy Department for Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs Editorial assistant: Daniela ADORNA DIAZ Feedback is welcome. Please write to [email protected] To obtain copies, please send a request to [email protected] VERSION English-language manuscript completed on 02 July 2021 COPYRIGHT Brussels © European Union, 2021 Reproduction and translation for non-commercial purposes are authorised, provided the source is acknowledged and the European Parliament is given prior notice and sent a copy. ©Cover image used under licence from Adobe Stock. This paper will be published on the European Parliament's online database, 'Think Tank' ISBN: 978-92-846-8347-5 (pdf) ISBN: 978-92-846-8346-8 (paper) doi:10.2861/980572 (pdf) doi:10.2861/69655 (paper) Catalogue number: QA-09-21-283-EN-N (pdf) Catalogue number: QA-09-21-283-EN-C (paper) Disinformation campaigns about LGBTI+ people in the EU and foreign influence Table of contents 1 Introduction 4 1.1 Definition of terms: disinformation, propaganda and hate speech 5 1.2 Methodology 6 2 Research overview of main narratives 6 2.1 LGBTI+ inclusion as ‘colonialism’ by the liberal West 7 2.2 LGBTI+ inclusion as a ‘threat to child safety’: paedophilia and sex education promoting unnatural sexuality and gender expressions 8 2.3 Negative othering 8 2.4 Opposing a ‘Gender Ideology’ 9 2.5 Heteroactivism and protection of the ‘natural’ family’s rights 9 2.6 Restoring the ‘natural’ order as ordained by God 10 3 Cases of disinformation, misinformation and hate speech 10 3.1 ‘Colonialism’ by the West 11 3.2 Children, sex education and paedophilia 12 3.3 Negative othering: LGBTI+ people spreading COVID-19 12 3.4 Opposing a ‘Gender Ideology’: the role of the Vatican 13 3.5 Heteroactivism: The reinstitution of the ‘natural family’ and the World Congress of Families 13 3.6 The role of religion: Restoring the ‘natural order’ - the case of Tradition Family and Property 14 4 Overview of actual and possible impacts of disinformation 15 5 Assessment of actions taken at EU and Member State level 16 5.1 Actions at EU and Member State level 16 5.1.1 Strategy, legislation and specific tools 16 5.1.2 Capacity development 18 5.2 Assessment 19 1 Policy Department, Directorate-General for External Policies 6 Conclusions and recommendations 20 6.1 Harmonise the legal framework across Europe and strengthen capacity amongst law enforcement professionals to handle disinformation campaigns, misinformation and hate speech and counter them by promoting EU values 21 6.2 Restrict the financial flows to disinformation and hate speech groups 21 6.3 Upgrade European capacity to detect and monitor disinformation and hate speech. 22 6.4 More research is needed 22 Annex 1 - Consultations 23 Annex 2 - Bibliography 24 Annex 3 – EU Documents 28 List of tables Table 1: Review of EU documents referring to LGBTIQ+, disinformation, hate speech and/or hate crime 28 2 Disinformation campaigns about LGBTI+ people in the EU and foreign influence List of acronyms and abbreviations Acronym Definition AI Artificial Intelligence EC European Commission EDMO European Digital Media Observatory EEAS European Union External Action Service EP European Parliament EU European Union FRA European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights IC Istanbul Convention Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in INGE the European Union, including Disinformation LGBTI Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex SOGI Unit Council of Europe Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Unit TEU Treaty on European Union TFP Tradition, Family and Property UN United Nations WCF World Congress of Families 3 Policy Department, Directorate-General for External Policies 1 Introduction Digital communication facilitates non-democratic actors’ access to and control of public life in their own country, as well as the opportunity to operate undetected outside the country of origin. There is concrete evidence that the European Union’s (EU) democratic processes are being targeted and interfered with by disinformation campaigns aiming at challenging democratic ideals and agreements on rights and responsibilities inside the EU (Makhashvili 2017). Based on a systematic review of 11 countries’ secret service reports, the Russian government is repeatedly identified as the main foreign actor when it comes to attempts ‘to influence European politics and decision-making most, and more so than China and other states’ (Karlsen 2019: 1, Roguski 2019). But the EU is also targeted by other foreign non-state actors (Archer & Provost 2020, Stoeckl & Medvedeva 2018, Stoeckl 2018, 2020). The Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the European Union (INGE) was created to analyse attempts by both state and non-state actors to interfere in the functioning of democracy in the EU and its Member States and to make recommendations for strengthening the Union’s capacity to respond. The Russian government’s interference is motivated by a desire to ensure long-term regime security and the resurrection of its world-power status, which are contingent on a weakened EU and NATO (Karlsen 2019). The West and Europe is consequently targeted using a divide-and-rule approach, where identifying and exploiting divisive social issues is a core strategy. Equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people (LGBTI+) appear to have been singled out as a particularly opportune topic to sow friction and disunity between EU Member States. Although the Russian government is a key actor, it is important to understand that it is not the sole actor with an interest in challenging the last decade’s expansion of rights. Russia’s interests in destabilisation overlap with those of other actors driven by ideological agendas. Even with noticeable differences in the level of social acceptance towards LGBTI+ people between Western Europe and Central and Eastern Europe (Takas and Szalma 2019), decades of human rights advocacy, targeting both individual Member States and the EU institutions, have effectively made many Western democracies, including most parts of Europe, a better place for LGBTI+ people than before. Important legislative and policy changes have removed criminalization, progressively granted freedoms and rights and brought more equality (equal age of consent, anti-discrimination laws, same-sex civil partnership and marriage, adoption, protection from hate speech and crime). Tolerance levels have thus steadily increased across most of Europe between 2002-2016, but with parts of Central and Eastern Europe being an exception (Takas and Szalma 2019). However, to provide context for the analysis of foreign influence and disinformation, it has to be noted that there are clear signs of a backlash against equal rights for the community: 40 % of 140,000 respondents to a recent survey reported a deterioration in the human rights situation in the past five years. This trend is particularly pronounced in Central and Eastern Europe (European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) 2020). There is also a sharp increase in online hate speech across the EU (ILGA-Europe Annual Review 2020). Public figures and officials across Europe in countries including Bulgaria, Poland, Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Portugal and